Malayalam film Arabikatha Review Film: "Arabikatha"; Director: Lal Jose; Cast: Sreenivasan, Indrajith, Zhang Shu Min, Jagathy Sreekumar and Samvritha Sunil; Writer: Iqbal Kuttipuram; Ratings: ***

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Malayalam film Arabikatha Review

'Arabikatha': a tale of Leftist Keralite lost in Gulf (Film Review)
By C.P. Parashuram

Film: "Arabikatha"; Director: Lal Jose; Cast: Sreenivasan, Indrajith, Zhang Shu Min, Jagathy Sreekumar and Samvritha Sunil; Writer: Iqbal Kuttipuram; Ratings: ***

Director Lal Jose has again come out with an offbeat subject in "Arabikatha". The film tells the tale of Keralites working in the Middle East from a totally different angle. Iqbal Kuttipuram narrates the story of a staunch Leftist migrating to Gulf to earn money.

'Cuba' Mukundan, played by Sreenivasan, is an idealist. His title is a testimony to his faith in the reality of his ideals. He fails to see how corruption has crept into his comrades and their plot to remove him from the path of their material progress.

They trap 'Society' Gopalan (Nedumudi Venu), Mukundan's father and the founder of the Leftist movement in his village, in a case of financial fraud. This shatters Mukundan, who suspends his father from the membership of the party.

Mukundan also accepts the amount involved on the alleged fraud as his personal debt to be repaid to the party. But, for that, he has to go and work in the Middle East, a country which he has always discouraged his comrades from going.

In the Gulf, Mukundan finds people working and living in terribly inhospitable conditions to send money back home. When he lands there, he has big ideas about improving the condition of the people but no one is ready to lend him an ear.

He is also thrown out of a couple of jobs for displaying his revolutionary zeal.

The scriptwriter and the director deserve kudos for the film's realistic depiction of the conditions in which many Keralites work in the Gulf.

Sreenivasan's performance as Mukundan is subdued and restrained. He does not go overboard as one feared after seeing his recent roles.

Indrajith, as a true follower of Mukundan, is earnest. Chinese girl Zhang Shu Min, with whom Mukundan is besotted, does a good job but one wishes that her characterisation had been sharper.

Lal Jose succeeds in giving us a film that is way ahead, in quality and content, of what the Malayalam film industry churns out these days.

Film throws light on factionalism in CPI-M in Kerala
Indo-Asian News Service

Thiruvananthapuram, July 15 (IANS) With the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in Kerala said to be in disarray due to factional feuds, "Arabikatha", a new Malayalam film, reveals the state of affairs through an intelligent presentation.

Making no qualms that the film projects the factionalism discreetly, veteran actor Sreenivasan, who plays the lead role in "Arabikatha", said the film does not make a direct attack on how the CPI-M is functioning, though he says the factionalism in the party hurts him.

"The objective of the film was to project the current day events of the CPI-M in a proper manner. I hail from Pattiyam in Kannur district, the stronghold of the CPI-M, and have received several calls from Kannur that this (showing the feud) was required," Sreenivasan told reporters here Sunday.

The film is directed by Lal Jose who has made popular blockbusters like "Meesha Madhavan" and "Classmates".

Sreenivasan plays the character of Cuba Mukundan, a staunch Leftist who is forced to work in Dubai due to ideological differences of opinion in his hometown.

The film portrays the travails of Keralites who work in difficult conditions in labour camps at Dubai where Mukundan finds solace when he meets a Chinese woman who comes from China to eke out a living.

Chang Shu Min, a Chinese actress, plays the role of the woman and Sreenivasan said that it was a nice experience to work with her.

"The world is progressing very fast but due to political opposition in Kerala, we are not keeping with the pace with which it is going ahead in other places. I hope that the party (CPI-M) would come out of its problems," said Sreenivasan.

The film has been scripted by Iqbal Kuttipuram. Cinematography is by Manoj Pillai. The cast also includes Samvritha Sunil, Jagathi Sreekumar, Indrajeet, Jayasurya, Saadiq, Suraaj, Nedumudi Venu and Salim Kumar.